1. The Sin of Pride
&
Rejoicing in the Misery of Others
EZEKIEL 25-32
June 29, 2014
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI
USA
Malachi 3:10
10 “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the LORD of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.”
LESSON SUMMARY
Romans 12:10-13, 15
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord's
people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
BOOK OF EZEKIEL
• Major vs. Minor Prophets Books of Bible
– Based on amount of writing, not importance
• Major Prophets
– Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

2. Ezekiel the Prophet
• Priest in Jerusalem area exiled (deported) to Babylon in 598 B.C. by
Nebuchadnezzar
• 10,000 + Jews exiled at this time
• Deportation vs. Tribute, Protection, Extortion
• God calls him to be a Prophet in Babylon
– Spokesperson for God to the people
– Predict the future and warn the people
Structure of Ezekiel’s Book
• Chapters 1 – 24: Prophecies against Judah and Jerusalem
• Chapters 25-32: Prophecies against Foreign Nations (today’s lesson)
• Chapters 33-48: Prophecies of Hope and Salvation
God’s Judgments & Methods
• The Nation of Israel was/is God’s chosen people.
• They were to be the example to other nations of worshipping the one and
only creator God.
• God used foreign nations (Unholy & Godless neighbors!) to punish Israel
when they strayed.
God’s Judgment on Israel
• Main Sin was Idolatry (worship was meaningless and directed to idols)
• Introduced to them in Egypt and by neighbors and foreign wives.
• 1st Commandment – No other Gods before me
• 2nd Commandment – Make no idols (visual representation of God)
– God is a spirit

3. God’s Judgment on Foreign Nations
• Not God’s chosen people – no obligations
• Experienced only “general revelation of God” and examples of the
“chosen people – the Jews”
Romans 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities—his eternal
power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from
what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Prophecies Against Foreign Nations
Ezekiel 25-32
• Ammon – (Jordan) Son of Lot & daughter
• Moab – (Jordan) Son of Lot & daughter
• Edom – Descendants of Esau (Jacob’s brother)
• Philistia – (Palestine) West coast area
• Tyre – (Lebanon) Island capital of Phoenicia
• Sidon – (Lebanon) City in Phoenicia
• Egypt –
• Assyria – Compared to a Cedar tree in Lebanon

4. A Prophecy Against Ammon
Ezekiel 25: 1-7
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, set your face against the
Ammonites and prophesy against them. 3 Say to them, 'Hear the word of the
Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said "Aha!"
over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it
was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile,
4 therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They
will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit
and drink your milk. 5 I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and Ammon
into a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. 6 For this is
what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands and
stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of
Israel, 7 therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder
to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you
from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the Lord. '”
Pride – Rejoicing in the misery of others
Ezekiel 25:3 “Because you said “Aha!”………….
Ezekiel 25:6 “Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet,
rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel…….”
(Mocking God by mocking His people – Where is your God now?)

5. “Aha!”
• Hebrew interpretation: “To express satisfaction over misfortune of rival”
– A cry of malicious joy
• English version: Gloating with ill intent, pride or envy
• Schadenfreude – German for “shameful joy”
King David in Psalms
Psalm 3:2
2 Many are saying of me,
“God will not deliver him.”
Psalm 35:21a
21a They gape at me and say, “Aha! Aha!”
Psalm 35:25
25 Do not let them think. “Aha, just what we wanted”
or say, “We have swallowed him up.”
A Prophecy Against the King of Tyre
• Another Sin of Pride – “Self-Worship”
Ezekiel 28:1-2
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 "Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre, 'This is
what the Sovereign Lord says:
"'In the pride of your heart
you say, "I am a god;
I sit on the throne of a god
in the heart of the seas.”
But you are a mere mortal and not a god,
though you think you are as wise as a god.
Definitions of PRIDE
• Easier to recognize in others than to define or see in oneself.
– Arrogance, conceit, presumption, boasting
– Attitude of self-sufficiency, self-importance, self-exaltation in
relation to God
• Opposite is humility
• Pride is rebellion against God because it attributes to oneself the honor
and glory due to God alone.

6. Is there such a thing as good pride?
• “I am so proud of you.”
– Pleased
– Satisfied
– Know source of ability
• Bottom line: Who is receiving the glory?
Reference
IDOLS FOR DESTRUCTION: The Conflict of Christian Faith and American Culture
By Herbert Schlossberg
Hosea 8:4b
4b With their silver and gold
they made idols for their own destruction.
• Satan tempted Eve by appealing to her pride
• “You will be like God”, said Satan
• He appealed to her appetite for self-worship.
Another Example of Pride
• The judgment at the “Tower of Babel”
Genesis 11:4
4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to
the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be
scattered over the face of the whole earth."
PRIDE
Good Pride vs. Sinful Pride
How do you tell the difference?
“They that know God will be humble; they that know themselves cannot be
proud.” John Flavel
REFERENCE
7 Things You Should Know About Pride and Humility
By Mark Driscoll
Pastor at Mars Hill Church
Seattle, Washington

7. Pride vs. Humility
1. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
1 Peter 5:5b (Proverbs 3:34)
5b "God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
2. Humility means knowing your place.
Romans 12:3
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of
yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober
judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of
you.
3. Everyone is proud, just in different ways.
It’s easy to point out pride in others while remaining oblivious to our own
blind spots.
Before we judge others for their pride, we need to ask, “How am I blind to
my own?”
4. Humility is a direction, not a destination.
None of us can say, “I used to be proud. Glad that’s over.” That would be
proud.
The question is not, “Have you arrived?” but rather, “Are you even trying?”
5. Pride is about my glory, humility is about God’s glory.
Once the question of glory is settled, everything is settled.
Who gets the glory?
Resolve to give God the glory, and you will know the answer to the vast
majority of the decisions in your life.
6. Pride bends inward, but humility turns out to God and others.
Pride makes it all about “me”.
Humility turns our affections and energies toward God’s glory and others’
good.
Pride leads us to focus on ourselves.
Humility leads us back out to God and others.
7. Pride births death, humility births life.
All sin comes out of pride!
All virtue, all holiness, and all glory to God are birthed out of humility

8. CLOSING
Romans 12:10-13, 15
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be
joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord's
people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.
HAPPY 4TH of JULY